Fearless
by blacklistedsoul21
Summary: Draco likes Hermione and now, all he wanted was for her to see the different side of him and maybe, she might like him too. But he never thought that he would have to face first his worst nightmare for it just to happen.


**FEARLESS**

Draco Malfoy was in a deep thought as he walked at the grounds of Hogsmaede going back to the castle. He was not exactly sure if he just did the right thing, he thought. But what could he do? For the very first time, he felt helpless in dealing with a _woman._ Yes. Despite the fact that he's got the face, the charm, the wit and intelligence, the riches and the benefit of sharing the same Common Room with her, yet he still was at a disadvantage.

Well, of course he was; because the moment Draco Malfoy realized he fancies a certain Hermione Granger, he knew that by just making her acknowledge him as a person would already be a tough challenge for him.

He faced that fact during the summer after the war. When the Headmistress announced that those students who were under their Seventh Year during the war would return to Hogwarts to retake the course, he swore that he would do _everything_ to make her see the different side of him. Not the arrogant-prick she used to snap to; fight with and _hate._

Unfortunately for him, it was far from happening. For the past two months since the start of the term, the only difference that ever occurred was that Hermione does not snap, fight with or appear to hate him anymore. He couldn't even classify such as a good thing since it was as if she's not recognizing his mere existence at all! He doesn't know if it was because he saved Harry Potter's life that she decided to be nice to him and by being nice it meant pretending he doesn't exist.

Now, what did he exactly do today that he was cynical of?

"_Just open this box when you are with her and we assure you you'll get the best time of your life." George Weasley said to him with glinting eyes. _

"_The best time to do it is today, at _night._" His twin brother added with a smirk that says he's up to no good._

"_I got to be honest," Draco said sitting straight. "I don't trust you."_

"_Big words coming from the son of an ex- Death Eater."_

"_Almost murderer of Dumbledore."_

"_And the one who saved your arses from saying goodbye to the world," Draco interjected silencing the two. "Look, I don't want to bring up who saved who. Who almost killed who. I need help with Hermione, that's the point here."_

"_You asked for our help." Fred began._

"_We gave you a plan."George followed._

"_But then you said you don't trust us." They said in unison._

"_Why ask us anyway if that is the case?"Fred asked him after taking a sip from his drink. "Sounds like you're wasting our time."_

"_Because aside from Potter and Weasley, which obviously I have no chance of getting any help from, you two are next closest to her." He started. "And knowing that fact that you've got brilliance with doing what could be considered as almost impossible, possible, I thought I'll take my chances with the two of you. It's just that I am rather a bit skeptical about how far the two of you could be nice to me."_

_When Draco was finished with his speech, the two looked at him as if he was an art piece to be evaluated. Well, if they were judging whether he was sincere, it would not be a problem. He fancies Hermione, almost starting to be obsessed with her. He would not risk dealing with them if it was for a rubbish reason._

"_Since you admitted that you're an almost hopeless case, I take that as a good point." Fred said._

"_And you called us brilliant, although it's always obvious. Okay then." George slipped his hand inside his robe and took out a black mid-length wand. "Just for safety precaution. But don't bring this with you when you open the box."_

"_You planned on not giving me that?!" Draco asked, a bit taken aback. That wand was for safety precaution and obviously there's a chance the plan may got out of control. _

"_Yes, but now we did. So don't be feisty little dragon. You aren't really our favourite person," Fred said making the wand roll towards him. "And last tip for you. Be fearless."_

**oo00oo**

Draco has been pacing back and forth in his room for quite some time now. He was thinking on how to make an entrance at their Common Room's drawing room where Hermione was at the moment.

_Maybe I'll just casually walk-in and sat at the couch. I do that in the Slytherin Common Room, and that's completely normal and inconspicuous. _He stopped on his tracks when he realized that for the both of them that couldn't count as normal. For the past two months they hadn't shared the same space inside their Common Room at the same time. _Well, there's always a time for a first, isn't it? Merlin, this is killing me!_

Draco went out of his room with a hand inside his pocket and the other holding the box the twins gave him. Taking steps down the stairs, his eyes lingered on the figure lying on one of the couches of the Drawing Room. She was, as usual, intently reading a book. He saw some of her curls cascaded down from the armrest where she rested her head on.

As he was so intently watching the girl of his dreams, he became so unaware of himself that, regrettably, he accidentally missed a stair, making him lose his balance and sending him swimming onto the floor.

_Strike one._

Draco was laying flat on the floor with his arms and legs out-stretched. _Walk-in casually?! Merlin, now I just made a scene! Darn it!_ He frustratingly thought, a heavy frown appearing on his face. This was one thing he feared—messing up most especially in front of the girl he likes.

"Malfoy, are you alright?" He heard Hermione's voice from his side.

"Do I look fine to you?" he snapped, out of frustration, as he helped himself to sit up.

_Strike two._

"I'm just trying to be nice." Hermione snapped back. "But I guess you don't know how to be one." Hermione stood up and went back to the couch to read.

Draco just realized that she was kneeling beside him earlier, obviously worried about his condition but he absentmindedly just snapped at her in return. _Merlin, when will this arrogance rub off!?_

He picked up his small box which luckily survived his unexpected leap, stood up and sat at the couch opposite hers. At least, he thought, he could use his misfortune as an excuse to be at the same place with her. He pretended to look hurt when he settled himself on the couch for he realized she was watching him. Leveling up his act, he began on checking his arms, acting like he was looking for some scratches.

"If you're afraid you scarred your delicate self, just go to the Hospital Wing." Hermione sarcastically suggested. "But please don't forget to ask for an arrogance-reliever. You're in need of medication."

Draco recoiled at her statement realizing how he was messing up everything even before he got the chance to start the plan. He got to at least redeem himself.

"Thank you for the concern Granger and I apologize for snapping at you," he said earnestly which actually took the Head Girl by surprise. He noticed it when she almost lost her grip with the book she was reading.

Hermione did not bother replying to his apology and everything fell silent again. Draco then decided that it was time to proceed to the plan. Taking the box he rested on top of the couch he was sitting on, carefully, he opened it. The next thing he knew was that he was feeling cold and started screaming on top of his lungs.

_Strike three. _

_*oo00oo*_

Hermione accidentally dropped the book which was within her grasp and almost fell from the couch she was lying on when she just heard a bloody scream. She quickly sat up and directed her gaze at the cause of the commotion. There he was, Draco Malfoy, on top of the couch whose face looked like someone who came face to face with his greatest fear. _He seemed like he just did._

"Bloody hell!" He cried and then saw him took two steps sideways. _What's the matter with him? _"Don't you dare come near me!"

"Malfoy, what's wrong?" She frantically asked. But deep inside, Hermione was torn between worrying and laughing at him. The man who usually appeared proud and almighty was now looking like a scared little boy trapped in the dark. Somehow, she found it _cute._

"Darn! Granger, will you kill it?! I don't have my wand with me!" he cried, while pointing at something on the floor. Hermione stood up from her seat, took her wand from the side table and walked towards him. "Oi! Don't come too near. It's dangerous for you. Not to near _Hermione. _Please!" His warning didn't really stop her from her track but that moment when he said her name. That was the first time and despite the fear in his voice it came out surprisingly beautiful from his lips.

"Okay, am I safe here?" she asked him, her wand ready. "Now, where's the thing you want me to _slay_?"

"There!" Draco Malfoy pointed again at the floor. At first, Hermione didn't see anything at all and thought that the boy was mad. But the moment he took another step sideways, she saw a small brown _thing_ with six spiky legs and has two long whiskers moving a bit towards the very frightened boy in front of her. "Oh blast that bloody monster, for Merlin'sake!" He pleaded. But despite the fear on his face and all his seriousness regarding the matter, Hermione Granger could not help herself from putting down her wand, covering her mouth and bursting into pure laughter.

"If you don't realize that this is a serious and disgusting predicament Granger, give your wand and let me murder that filthy _cockroach_!" Draco snarled at her. But upon hearing the word 'cockroach', her laughter just heightened its volume. "Oh this is not funny! Not at all!"

"I'm…sorry…" She managed to say such in the midst of her laughter. "I shouldn't have laugh. But your face looked like you saw Voldemort rose from hell. But…_cockroach!_" Then she broke into laughter again.

"Just…_please _kill it now and then you can laugh all you want after so," Hermione, who already stopped laughing, looked up at Draco Malfoy who stared back at her appearing like some helpless hero who came face to face with his kryptonite.

"You could just step on it, Malfoy." Hermione suggested, somehow enjoying the moment of the Head Boy's vulnerability. "You're a big guy and that thing is totally helpless to you."

A scowl instantly appeared on his face as if he imagined himself doing such. "NO! I will not do such thing! Do you know how filthy that disgusting atrocious monster is?! And bloody hell, it's getting near! Darn! Granger I am pleading you. Slay it and I'll be your slave!"

_Malfoy is going crazy over a little cockroach. This is really interesting. _"That's a pretty good offer," she said and with a smile and a nod, she pointed her wand towards the cockroach which still remained unmoved from his last spot and muttered, "Incendio."

But when the fire from Hermione's wand made contact with the cockroach, for some reason, it brought Hermione standing on the couch abreast of Draco Malfoy with her hands gripping his firm biceps and his on her hips. Such intimate position remained unobserved by the two as they screamed in unison and looked at the cockroach that just went ten times bigger than it was before.

"Now, that _is _disgusting," Hermione said softly as she watched it slowly move away from them. "But why do you think it went--" However, no more words followed when she found herself almost nose to nose with Draco and realized the situation they were in. Her heart started to flutter like a thousand drums. His scent was intoxicating in a very good way and his hands on her waist felt comfortable almost very protective. But the one that captivated her most were those grey orbs that were as deep as an ocean and sparkle like the water that was struck by the moonlight.

_Shouldn't I be recoiling from him? _She thought, but surprisingly she found herself stuck in such unexpected yet promising situation.

"Granger I—" But Draco's words were interrupted when they both heard fluttering of wings and obviously, it was not a good sign. "Duck!" Draco yelled and still in each other's arms both skidded onto the couch. "Merlin, I almost forgot that monster could fly!"

Hermione quickly and casually released herself from Draco's protective arms and stood up to shoot another spell towards the cockroach. Although it was flying, Hermione had no difficulty on hitting it with another spell, "Diffindo!"

"Oh no," Draco murmured looking paler than ever. "Now we have to deal with four oversized cockroaches!"

"Sorry! I didn't see that coming." Hermione cried. _What is making such effect to the cockroach? I am completely sure my wand is in good condition. _"Let me try this again." She pointed her wand to one of the cockroaches who were flying around the room but then the evil things began to fly towards them. "I do not like this!"

"Granger, run!" Without hesitation, Hermione obliged and darted towards the staircases nearest her followed by Draco and with the _monsters_ in pursuit. They both struggled climbing up the stairs and rushed inside the very first room that appeared at their sight.

With a loud thud, Draco Malfoy successfully closed the door without the company of the cockroaches. "Filthy monsters!" Hermione heard him cried.

"What shall we do now? I think if we hit them with another spell, Merlin knows they'll start breathing fire." Hermione half-wheeled herself her back now facing the door and the new sight that greeted her made her wonder where she was.

The room was spacious, painted white and so as the king-sized bed and pillows were of the same colour. Its ceiling has chocolate-brown mouldings with a big chandelier illuminating the room and the windows were covered by maroon draping that cascaded down to the floor. Hermione took some few steps forward and had a clear view of what it seemed like a huge bookcase almost as big as hers—but of course not one could beat her own.

The nagging question inside her mind was answered when she reached the study table where three picture frames were lying on top of it. Three of it encased the photo of the man she was with at the moment but he was not alone in any of it. There was his mother at the first frame, a beautiful blonde girl at the second and the third, which actually made her cringe, was Draco and his father.

"This is your room?" she asked to confirm.

"You sounded surprised." Hermione watched him roam around his room as if he was in search of something. "You thought you'll be blinded by emeralds and everything green, didn't you?"

"Yes and I also expected to be scarred by pictures of naked women not these," she said pointing at the frames.

"You really think I still need pictures for that?" Draco teased and then gave off a rather 'sexy' smirk and a stare that triggered again the thousand-drum kind of heart beats.

"Oh, eww, we're not discussing that." Hermione turned around and decided she'll rather face the Draco Malfoy in the picture at the moment. But when her eyes caught his photos and got the chance to intently look at them, she noticed it dazzled her more by just seeing that rare smile on his face. She had to admit, she never saw Draco Malfoy smiled and it was refreshing to see it. It was always a smirk, a malicious grin, a scowl or that serious façade. And that gleam on his face was so genuine and _happy._

Another thing that caught her attention was the beautiful blonde little girl with him on one of his photos. "Who's this gorgeous little girl you are carrying on your shoulder?" The Draco in the picture then cradled the little girl in his arms and they started twirling. If she was there, she's definite she could hear him laughing.

"My stingy little sister, Luisa."

Hermione leaned back at the table and faced Draco who's now rummaging his drawers, still in search of something she does not know. "How old is she now?"

"Four, but she'll be turning five two weeks from now." Although only one side of his face was visible to her, Hermione was able to glimpse the smile that formed on his face and in that fleeting moment she wondered what memory of his sister that triggered that beam. "Oh I hope she stop growing old because she's becoming more and more peevish."

"Oh I know someone like her, just worse," Hermione said teasingly.

"Hey, believe it or not I'm much more tamed now." Draco defended and to her own surprise, it made her laugh.

"Really? Says the one who was screaming like a mad troll just because he saw a cockroach."

"Very funny Granger," he said sarcastically, and then he began walking towards her.

Hermione was silently cursing herself from not removing her gaze to the boy who looked like a super model strutting towards her. Also, she thought that he was about to strangle her having that mad look on his face. But he stopped just beside her and began rummaging at the things on his study table. "I'm sure I put it somewhere here. Oh, yes! Here it is." He was holding a mid-length wand that somehow looked familiar to her. "Time to slay the bloody cockroaches."

Draco excitedly went out of his room and Hermione had no choice but to follow his suit. "Do you really think _that _would work? You saw what happened when we tried shooting it with spells!"

"A little trust Granger. I know what I'm doing." They reached the bottom of the stairs and the four cockroaches were like a flock of birds flying around the same spot which was on top of the center table.

Draco stepped forward and shakily pointed the wand at them. "Expulso!" But the spell failed to hit anyone of them. This caused the four to spread. "Darn!" Hermione looked at Draco but he was looking not so good.

"Are you alright? You look pale."

"I always look pale. I bet you don't know that," he said while looking at her.

"No, I mean paler than your usual pale! Let me do it." Hermione offered her hand to him asking for the wand.

HE shook his head and smirked. "I can handle this Granger. I—" but both fell silent and eyes widened when one of the gigantic cockroach just landed on Draco's outstretched arm.

The boy didn't scream. No curses or hexes were shot, not even a frantic movement was made and that's because Draco Malfoy passed out before he could do any of it,

"Malfoy!" Hermione called kneeling beside the unconscious boy. "Looks like you really going to be my slave." She picked up his wand and shot the cockroach that succeeded on defeating the one great Draco Malfoy.

*oo00oo*

He was sitting on the couch, arms crossed, eyes gazing at the crimson flame dancing at the fireplace. Although he knew it was childish, he could not help but to sulk. Well, he just embarrassed himself in front of the girl he has a crush on; the girl he likes; the girl who is much braver than he is—a man, a Malfoy.

He was murmuring 'passed out', 'coward' and 'the twins' when Hermione arrived at the Drawing Room.

"Are you alright?" she asked him with ease, as she stood beside the couch he was sitting on.

"No." He answered coldly not minding to look at her. Well, he was still frustrated and his temper could be a little unmanageable during such times.

"Do you want me to get you some water? You still kind of look pale."

He violently shook his head another heavy frown was showing on his face. "It's not that _Hermione," _he said somewhat impatient, unaware that he has used her name for the second time. "It shouldn't be you. It was supposed to be me who slain that stupid cockroach!"

"So you feel so low because you were saved by a Muggleborn? Oh I should have known." Hermione said in a disappointed voice.

"No. Of course not. I meant. I should have saved you not pass out on you!" Draco was already raising his voice and Hermione could not help to feel amused. "That's so stupid of me."

"So…you are frustrated because you failed to save me?" Hermione asked him. "I don't think that's frustrating."

"Not frustrating?!" he exclaimed. "I got the chance to protect the girl I _like _but I chickened out because of a cockroach! You tell me if it is not maddening enough." After so, he began muttering curses again unaware once more that he accidentally slipped off the pin of his own grenade.

"Oh." It was all Hermione was able to reply. But if Draco would just look up at her, he would definitely see a curious grin on the girl's face. "Well, I'll be taking a rest now. You should too."

This time, Draco followed her with his eyes and was surprised when she stopped on her tracks and looked back at him. Their eyes met. "I think it is fearless when someone tries to overcome the very thing they dread. So you shouldn't be frustrated Draco Malfoy," she said and gave off a beautiful smile that surely soothed him. Then she walked away.

Now, a wide grin was plastered on his face as he comfortable rests his back on the couch as he looked at the ceiling. But after a moment or so the smile vanished. "I think I just said something I should have not said." Oh yes he did.

* * *

_This is inspired by my own experience. I saw a very very big cockroach in my room. It freaked me out, but good thing I didn't pass out. :p_

_I'm still working on the sequel for A Treasure Hunt but it won't be coming that soon though.  
_

_Oh please Read and **REVIEW!**_


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